The principal aim of this paper is to contribute to the pursuit of evaluating pragmatic language competence in preschool years by observation-based data. Initially, the relations between age and language development measured as mean length of utterance (MLU) and three dialogue skills are described. The occurrences of "focus on the dialogue…

Describes formal and informal techniques used to evaluate young children's cognitive style for the purpose of individualizing instruction. Topics include controlled laboratory procedures, paper and pencil tests, classroom assessments, and individualization in educational programs. (RJC)